EVERYDAY IS AN ORDEAL FOR WOMEN

Anjali Mody

Suddenly, this week we are being exhorted to arm ourselves. Newspaper frontpages in the capital carry advice on what works against a potential rapist. Mace and pepper spray are good, so are high-pitched alarms. These concerns about women's safety are prompted by the gang rape of two young women in New Delhi, one of them was raped twice in the space of a month, and the assault on another outside a cinema in Chennai.

An obstacle course

This is but a passing display of concern, of gender sensitivity, in a country where for women the public space is an obstacle course of sexual harassment and sexual asault. In buses, on trains or on the street, and especially on university capuses, a woman has constantly to be on her guard. On guard against being leered at, whistled at, being verbally abused, touched or worse, raped.

The simple act of walking down a street is something that Manisha, a young woman working in New Delhi, described as "one of the toughest things to do." The constant stares, the physical assaults (a man driving by made a grab at her and sped off on one occasion) require something more than determination to get through.

Manju, a student in Thiruvananthapuram, says lewd comments, verbal abuse and 'flashers' - men who expose themselves to women - are all part of what they have to endure on the street. Yet, Manisha and Manju like most women commuting to work or university in almost any city or town in India have learnt to deal with these things. They have ceased to be enraged by the constant assaults on their persons by ogling eyes, abusive tongues and groping hands.

Offences under law

Jameela, a lawyer in Thiruvananthapuram, said most women put "these things" down as an accepted risk or occupational hazard that just cannot be wished away. But the fact is that this form of sexual harassment anyone may be more used to seeing described as 'eve-teasing, defined by the archaisms 'insulting the modesty of a woman' or 'outraging the modesty of a woman' are offences under the Indian Penal Code.Section 509 of the IPC takes a wide definition of verbal abuse and suggestive gesticulation, including winking. And Section 354, accounts for physical assault not amounting to rape. Verbal abuse, obscene gestures and assault of the sort that Manisha was subject to are not easily dealt with by the law. Lawyer Indian Jaisingh said it was difficult to pursue such cases because it is difficult to find the perpetrator. Such 'hit and run' cases, she agreed, were more a problem of society than of the law.

Culture of aggression

But as a society we seem unwilling to deal with the fact of a deeply ingrained culture of aggression against women. The fact that Holi is used as a cover in north India to assault women is seen as a 'law and order' problem. New flashpoints have emerged with globalisation.

In Jaipur, Valentine's Day was seen as a time to force unwanted amorous attention on women. Just the terminology we employ denies the violence of such acts. By describing what is unquestionably sexual harassment, often sexual assault, as 'eve-teasing', we seem determined to treat sexual agression, intimidation and preying on women as something banal. Something that some of the deviants who make these attacks term 'time pass.'

A problem of power

We have developed a vocabulary which trivialises the agressor as a 'Romeo' suggesting that his acts of sexual harassment are part of a culture of romance. The fact is, sexual harassment is certainly not about romance, it is not even, says Nandita Narain, about lust. Rather, it is a problem of power. Ms.Narain, who helped draft Delhi University's sexual harassment policy proposal, said the harassment of women is about men exercising their power to intimidate and set the terms on which women may or may not negotiate public spaces.

The reporters of 'roadside Romenos' indulging in 'eve-teasing' simply trivialise what is in reality a violation of woman's right to equality and to life and liberty. This may seem inexplicable to many. But a society in which half the population, because it is female, is denied the liberty of using public spaces with the same ease and sense of security as the other half, which is male, can be violating a basic principle of equality.

The powerlessness to deal with sexual harassment has in many cases pushed women over the edge. While Manju amd Manisha are confident women who have found ways of 'dealing with' aggression in public spaces, others are not so lucky. For, sexual harassment occasions, in some cases, the same emotions as a woman subject to rape. It has been described as 'psychological rape' as the victim feels nervous, suffers a loss of self-esteem and confidence, feels humiliated, tries to change her dress and behaviour, and feels a sense of guilt that somehow she has 'caused the behaviour'.

Security in the work place

For Sangita Sharma, a young lawyer practising at the Andhra Pradesh High Court, a Supreme Court verdict making sexual harassment in the workplace an offence made no difference. She killed herself leaving behind a suicide note, a diary and an affidavit accusing senior male colleagues of sexual harassment. Women's rights activist, Vasantha Kannabiran, said Sangita's case is not an isolated one: security of women at workplaces is minimal and far too many face untold harassment from male colleagues and bosses. But, for a woman to come out openly with such accustations whether it is against colleague or her boss, according to Susheela Devi, Chairperson of the Andhra Pradesh Women's Commission, takes a great deal of courage. Few do, despite the fact that the Supreme Court has created the space for challenging sexual harassment at the workplace. But, the fear of reprisal and further victimisation in male-dominated work cultures has been rather more successful in keeping a lid on a problem that is growing with the rising number of women in workplaces. As a country we have signalled that we have no problem with men who sexually harass or sexually assault women.

The most celebrated case of the survival of a sexual harasser and molester is K.P.S.Gill, lately adviser to the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi. Mr.Gill, while being the Punjab police chief, was convicted of molesting a Punjab cadre IAS officer, Rupan Deol Bajaj, at an official reception in Chandigarh. He pleaded drunkenness and said Ms. Bajaj was blowing things out of proportion. In January 1998, the court found him guilty as charged and sentenced him to three months rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 2 lakhs. Yet, this has not made a dent in his acceptability to the chattering classes, the political establishment or the media.

There have been far too few cases in which convictions have been achieved. In some it has taken years to get a modicum of what might pass for justsice. S.C.Bhatia, professor in the Department of Adult and Continuing Education, Delhi University, allegedly preyed on his students and several complained of molestation. But he was defended adroitly by a University that believed sexual harassment was a figment of women's imaginations. It was only in 1992 after a long campaign by women's groups in the University demanding a judicial inquiry into his activities, that Prof. Bhatia was dismissed. He has never been before a court.

Today, an MLA in the Kerala Assembly and former Minister, is under investigation on a sexual harassment charge made by the senior woman IAS Officer.

Male-dominated work culture

The private sector is no different. Few companies have a sexual harassment polity to deal with complaints, although the Supreme Court judgment places the onus of dealing with the problem on the employer. In the male-dominated work cultures of most companies, women know that complaining about sexual harassment may mean losing their jobs.

Take the case of the CEO of a large infrastructure company, a man with a very long record of sexually harassing women colleagues. He got away with his crimes simply because his company did not believe this was a problem. Sexual aggression against and intimidation of their women employees was of little consequence. In this environment none of the numerous women subject to sexual harassment by the CEO found it in her to make a formal complaint. One, however, approached the trade union for help, but was unwilling to go on record. The Union had but one course. It told the company to deal with the CEO or it would go to the press. The CEO 'quit'.

The company still has no sexual harassment policy. And the CEO now heads a rival infrastructure company. It is unlikely that his new victims will receive a sympathetic hearing. Think about it: we live in a country where a young woman crossing a street with fast moving traffic is casually assaulted by the driver of a passing car, and she is a lucky one. For she is lucky not to have been dragged into the car, driven around the capital city and gang raped.

(Courtesy: 'The Hindu' 18th-August, 2002)